Vladimir Putin seeing gold: Russia readies itself for economic war

Central banks bought 93 tonnes of gold in the quarter. Photo: Reuters Russia is boosting its gold stockpiles in anticipation of a possible economic war with the West. Ever since the financial crisis Vladimir Putin’s government has been increasing its gold holdings. Russia accounted for 59 per cent of net gold purchases by central banks in the third quarter of 2014, according to data from the World Gold Council. Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have all taken advantage of a subdued gold market, for which demand eased by 2 per cent in the quarter. The WGC has attributed this to an increasing…